At times we were unplayable, at times the passing was a joy to watch, but it is a shame Arsenal couldn't have done this more often following the 2-0 win over West Brom.
Alexis Sanchez chipped in with two well-taken goals and, in truth, the score could have been a lot higher at the Emirates. The result eased concerns of the possibility of us finishing outside the top four as we moved up to third in the table. But it still left me with a frustrating feeling of what might have been had we been more consistent this season. Our form has been far too mixed but the win over West Brom was certainly an enjoyable one to watch for the most part.
With only four games remaining we need to focus on our own job and attempt to win them all if we are to stand a chance of catching our bitter rivals second-placed Spurs, who are currently five points above us.
Arsenal started brightly and took the lead after just six minutes when Mesut Ozil set up Sanchez to spin past his marker to score a fine low shot on the turn. The Gunners continued to pile forward with Ozil seeing his effort blocked before Hector Bellerin fired a shot just off target.
The hosts were in cruise control but their lack of adding a second goal nearly came back to haunt them when West Brom almost grabbed an equaliser shortly before the half hour mark. Baggies' defender Gareth McAuley's header beat Petr Cech in the Arsenal goal, only for the crossbar to keep him out.
Another chance went begging for Arsenal as Ozil saw a shot cleared off the line by Craig Dawson, but the hosts made amends by doubling their advantage seven minutes before the break. Sanchez curled a delightful free-kick beyond Ben Foster and finally the Gunners could put a bit of distance between themselves and their opponents, although a 2-0 lead by no means meant the game was yet over.
Arsenal tried to add further goals in the second half, with Foster denying Giroud before the hosts saw a penalty shout waved away after Alex Iwobi had gone down in the box. There was also a half shout for a spot-kick when Mohamed Elneny went down in the area but there didn't seem much in it and the referee, from the first viewing of the incident, was probably right to wave play on.
Foster ensured there would be no further goals as he kept out efforts from Ozil and Iwobi, while Olivier Giroud and substitute Joel Campbell shot wide in the closing minutes.
Although it was slightly frustrating to see the match finish just 2-0, it was a confident performance from the Gunners in the penultimate month of the season.
OPPOSITION VIEW
West Brom fan Mike Beddoes felt both teams wasted chances in what was a disappointing night for the Baggies.
"I'd say it was a game where it could have as easily been 4-0 Arsenal as it could have been 2-2," said Beddoes. "Missed opportunities aplenty from both sides.
"It was more decided by how weak both sides are than how strong either team performed."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
For large spells this was a great performance but in the grand scheme of things it means very little. A win is always good and I was delighted to see us confidently beat West Brom, but in context of the whole league season it isn't going to affect our failed title bid.
We have a remote hope of catching Tottenham and, although second-placed would still ultimately be a failure, we must make sure we focus on keeping up our slim hopes of getting above our London rivals rather than letting our season fizzle out even more.
So let's make sure we put in a big strong performance at Sunderland next time around.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
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